Self-sealing valve for balloons or non elastomer articles, obtained by a mass production process

ABSTRACT

This invention is related to a self-sealing valve for inflatable articles, including balloons, made of non-elastomeric material of the kind of valves formed by multiple layers of thermo-plastic film joined by heat which form three sections; a nozzle, main channel and a multi-valved section. This valve design permits the production of balloons or inflatable objects with a valve without requiring sophisticated machinery for the exact placement of the valve in the article or balloon. This is characterized in that the nozzle of the article consists of four films; two external films with an outer face that is compatible with heat fusion with the material of the inflated article in which the valve is to be placed and inner faces that are compatible with each other and the inner films with outer faces that are compatible with the outer films and inner faces that are incompatible with each other and outer films.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the current market there is a wide variety of self-sealing valves andsystems to implant them in the balloon body, especially the so-calledmetallic or non-metallic elastomers. All of them have a commoncharacteristic as regards to long life in comparison with balloons madeout of rubber or latex which are the most popular and most known amongpreceding generations.

All self-sealing valves that make up prior art have the sameconformation pattern, as well as several similarities that are mentionedbelow:

All valves that make up the previous technology consist of a channeldefined by two thermoplastic sheets or films which are compatible witheach other and the material that makes up the inner wall of the ballooninto which said valves are incorporated. All of these valves in theirrectangular presentation are a completely finished product before theirincorporation into the balloon wall. Thus it could be said that theseprior art valves are alien to the balloon body since theirimplementation, not only in a balloon, but in any product configured bythermoplastic films, such as bags and packaging likewise beingindependent of the configuration and size of the article, with the onlyrequirement being that the materials used in the manufacture of theseproducts be compatible with the material with which such valves aremade.

Another similarity common to prior art valves is that theses valvesalways have an inlet and outlet valve in their configuration to beimplanted in the balloon body and a channel along the length of thevalve body, said channel being bounded by lateral and parallel sealsalong the entire length of the valve body or almost its entire length,thus creating accurate passage or channel seals through which the liquidmay flow to fill the balloon.

Both the configuration of the seal lines and channel may in some casesbe curved, not straight and the width may vary throughout the length ofthe channel.

The kind of valves that we are concerned with, always related to thoseconsidered as being prior art, have an additional common characteristic,a small area printed with special heat-resistant ink which prevents heatsealing in this area of the valve once it is subject to implanting inthe corresponding balloon and it adheres to the balloon body with theapplication of heat, thereby defining the Inflating fluid accesspassage, thanks to the print with the special above mentioned ink in thearea bounded by said ink. Done otherwise, when implanting said valve andsealing it to the walls of the balloon neck, there would be no accesspassage for the inflating element and once said valve is implanted wouldonly be obtained through the perforation or cut made in the front wallof the balloon neck.

As a consequence of the procedure followed to implant the valve in theinner walls of the corresponding balloon body, and also considering thespecific heat application areas for the adhesion of the valve to saidballoon, most of the valve body becomes a pendant without a specific usewithin the valve body which, to a certain extent, affects the qualityand presentation of the product, especially In the case of relativelysmall balloons made of non-elastromeric plastic material.

An additional characteristic that, to a certain extent, is common toprevious art products is related to the equipment used to implant valvesin the balloon which required, and considering that the valve is handledas an additional body, the use of very sophisticated and expensiveequipment which synchronizes the placement of both layers that make upthe balloon body with the placement of the valve, since a fault, howeversmall, would lead to the erroneous placement of the valve and theconsequent waste of production line materials.

A clear case could be used to exemplify the kind of product we areconcerned with, that is, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,646 granted on Apr. 17,1990 invented by Mr. Gary Kieves which refers to a self-sealing flexibleplastic valve for a balloon manufactured with a non-latex film. Saidvalve is manufactured with two flexible plastic sheets joined togetherto define a both a valve inlet and outlet and a passage with the inletend of one of the sheets making up said valve overlapping the other toprovide a placement fin which is joined to the balloon sheets in such away that the inlet valve is placed within the balloon nozzle. A jointbarrier at the inlet end prevents the total sealing of the nozzle duringthe manufacture of the balloon and also facilitates the automaticinsertion of the valve in the balloon. The context of said applicationis incorporated as one of many documents making up the previous art.

On the basis of the above, it could be concluded that there is still awide field for research and development in the design of valves forballoons arid other inflatable articles which tend to facilitate themanufacture of these products to make them competitive for products withsmaller dimensions and consequently at a lower cost, while stillguaranteeing a high quality product with a minimum distribution andmarket placement cost, and also facilitating the use of manufacturingequipment with lower investment costs, easier use and more recent inapplication, plus many other advantages that could be discovered as wedescribe the invention we are dealing with.

In order to make the benefits offered by the product referred to in thisapplication in relation to previous technology products clearlyunderstood, it is suffice to say that one of the elements thatcontributes to the high cost of the product is, among others, thecomplexity of the manufacturing processes performed to obtain thefinished product with the previous technology; said stages could besummarized in the following manner, depending on whether the valves tobe inserted are fed from a continuous roll with prefabricated andfinished valves or by independent elements, i.e., one by one.

Stages of the valve-implanting process in a balloon fed on a roll basis:

A) a programmed feed is required that guarantees the delivery or freeingof just one valve per balloon;

B) a measured cut of the valve is required in order to avoid damage dueto an incorrectly placed cut, which would obviously make said valveuseless;

C) place the valve by means of a belt or arm in the exact place forimplantation in the balloon body, initially fixing it to one of theballoon walls with heat;

D) seal the valve to the walls of the inflatable body, limiting suchsealant to the obligatory positioning area in order to avoid producing ascrap product rather than a correctly valved one.

In reference to the procedure for the placement of a valve in aninflatable article, such as a balloon, which is done on the basis ofindividual feed, the procedure consists of the following steps:

a) cartridges or magazines are loaded to be used as a container for agiven number of stacked valves, which implies constant replenishment ofsaid container;

b) each one of the valves has to be collected from the respectivecartridge or magazine by means of a positioning arm which in itself is avacuum that acts on the valve to be picked up and placed In the exactposition of the balloon;

c) the valve is delivered to the positioning area by the samepositioning arm or belt and then, or simultaneous to this operation, itis initially sealed to at least one of the balloon walls and then;

d) the final stage corresponding to the total sealing of the valve tothe neck walls or balloon tail is carried out.

From the above, it can be concluded that the implantation of the valvein the inflatable article according to the previous technology techniquerequires very accurate synchronized actions that ensure the placement ofthe valves in the inflatable article, this logically implies theacquisition of very complex equipment which requires high technology andan investment that may be too expensive, especially in the manufactureof small-sized balloons whose low market price cannot justify suchinvestment; further it will be necessary to re-size and even redesignvalves made with the current procedure because otherwise the valvelength would exceed the balloon limits. It can be concluded that suchvalves would be inappropriate in some way or another for the kind ofballoons considered here.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the invention is the production of small,inexpensive balloons fitted with self-sealing valves by means of asimplified mass- and multiple-production procedure that avoids the useof complex synchronization methods for the placement of the valve in theballoon and also avoid wastage due to defective products.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a balloonmanufacturing system of the type mentioned above with just oneheat-sealing and simultaneous cut action that produces a product whichincludes a self-sealing valve, without having to add an externalprefabricated valve unit to the balloon body.

Another objective of the invention is to supply a balloon manufacturingsystem of the type mentioned above by which more than one balloon may bemanufactured simultaneously, thus ensuring high production per equipmentunit of time used in production.

Yet another objective of the invention is the use of simplifiedequipment in the manufacture of inflatable articles without the need forfurther equipment to ensure the measurement of valves in respect to theballoon neck, thus avoiding the production of defectives due to themisplacement of valves in the body of said articles.

Another objective of the invention is to provide balloon manufacturerswith pre-processed material for the production of balloons withself-sealing valves which makes it possible to manufacture balloonswithout the integration of a prefabricated valve.

A further objective of the invention is to lower the production cost ofmanufacturing small balloons or inflatable articles with a self-sealingvalve to place them on the market at a relatively low price.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing the various sheets of laminated material thatconstitute the finished balloon;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the sheets of laminated material thatconstitute the balloon valve invented;

FIG. 3 is an additional view showing the multi-layer material thatconstitute or configure the balloon valves invented:

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the distribution of the balloonsinvented arid the material used in their manufacture;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the balloon body faces in the deflatedstate;

FIG. 6 is a view of the inflated balloon of the invention as a finishedproduct, in accordance with the invention parameters;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of one balloon body face in the deflatedstate, according to another form of the invention.

In reference to the accompanying figure and especially the first, itshould be noted that in conformity with the parameters of the techniquesof the invention referenced in this application, the various sheets orlaminated materials constituting the balloon produced or resulting fromthe manufacturing system of the invention, there are generally twolaminated bodies (1 and 6) which basically constitute the balloon bodyand whose 1B and 6B inner faces are compatible each other sealing themby heat; 1A and 6A outer faces do not have to be compatible trought heatsealing.

Laminated bodies 2 and 5 are the intermediate sheets with 2A, 2B and 5Aand 5B inner and outer faces, respectively. The materials with whichthese two laminated bodies or plastic sheets are made compatible withheat seal, with 1B and 6B faces of layers 1 and 6 and with each other.

The innermost laminated bodies 3 and 4 are made up of a heat-sealingplastic material, but are not heat-sealing compatible with each other,or they may be configured by a layer of ink or a metallic coating thatmay be aluminum vapor and/or heat resistant varnish, in which case alayer of laminated material per se is not configured, but rather acoating on the inner 2B and 5B faces of laminated bodies 2 and 5,respectively.

It is also possible that the material with which layers 3 and 4 are mademay be a combination of the above mentioned materials.

FIG. 2 gives a rather diagrammatic view of sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5, whichare those in which the valve is configured in the finished product orballoon. In this figure, together with FIG. 3, it can be clearly seenthat sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5 indeed make up a preestablished sandwichtotally separated from sheets 1 and 6 which are those that definitivelygive shape to the balloon. It can be particularly noted in FIG. 3, thatin order to ensure a better quality self-sealing valve, and alwayswithin the spirit of the invention, sheets 2 and 5 are provided withparallel heat seal lines (12) which result in passages 21, that areinterrupted in a central band by the location of the laminated sheets (3and 4) that are heat-sealer incompatible with each other.

As a way to obtain good results, not as optimum as with the abovementioned parallel heat seal lines (12), regarding FIG. 3, it ispossible to do away with the heat seal parallel lines (12); however,this form does not fully ensure the permanent inflation of the finishedproduct. Another form is the partial labyrinth type heat seal lines madein parallel to the valve generating belt, as shown in FIG. 7 of theattached drawings.

It should be mentioned that the type of material that could be used forlaminated materials 1 and 6 integrating the balloon or valve bodies haveno limitation other than a correct selection in reference to thecompatibility of the heat seal between the various materials thereofwhich may have a gauge between 12 and 75 microns, provided that there isabsolute seal incompatibility between the inner faces or sections coatedwith lacquer, ink or varnish that are incompatible to heat sealingbetween 3B and 4B of layers 3 and 4. When lacquer, ink or varnish areused, the term 3B and 4B “inner faces” for sheets 3 and 4 isinapplicable since we are dealing with only a coating. Naturally, innerfaces 2B and 5B of sheets 2 and 5, respectively must be compatible witheach other in order to provide the heat-sealing of the 12 heat-sealinglines defined above in relation to FIG. 3 of the attached drawings.

FIG. 4, which is a diagrammatic representation of the sealing phase ofthe periferical seal and die cutting of the balloon, clearly shows abetter distribution of balloons to be manufactured on a production linewhich, as can be seen in FIG. 4, are laid out in opposite directions.However, a more suitable orientation of said balloons could be foundwhich permits more efficient production of said articles per unit ofwidth of materials 1 to 6 fed to the production equipment. It has beenfound that the most efficient layout corresponds to approximately 45° inrespect to the feed line of various materials 1 to 6 which are fed tothe production equipment, with which balloons of the same size areobtained with the least waste of material, or a higher number of unitsproduced per square meter of materials consumed.

FIGS. 5 and 6 of the attached drawings show balloon 14 produced inaccordance with the parameters of the invention described and claimedherein, in which it can be noted that said balloon is integrated byouter sheets 1 and 6 made of a heat compatible material joined togetherin peripherical line (16).

The above mentioned figures also show that ends 22 and 24 of neck 18 ofballoon 14 are not joined due to the material or varnish beingincompatible to the heat seal with which sheets 3 and 4 are made. whichas was clarified above, may be constituted by a laminated aluminummaterial, heat-resistant paint or even some kind of resin that preventsa joint between them even in case of application of heat.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 show finished balloon 14; it should also be noted thatin this case and coincidentally, a 21 passage configured betweenlaminated materials layers 2 and 5 check with passage 20 contributing tothe intrinsic formation of a self-sealing nozzle for small-sizedballoons at a relatively low cost, since the production of this kind ofballoon is made, as was mentioned before, with a multiple amount foreach production cycle.

In FIG. 6 it can be noted that for the inflation of balloons of thiskind it is suffice to separate free outer parts 22 and 24 from neck 18and the user can inflate the balloon by blowing or the insertion of somekind of nozzle through passage 20 of neck 18. The permanent andhigh-reliability seal of the product is established in a much morereliable manner due to the deformation within the balloon of presealedlayers 2 and 5 with the configuration of 21 air passages established by12 parallel joint lines. Said joint lines may be 4 mm to 30 mm apart inaccordance within the diameter or width of the balloon or inflatablearticle and, as described above, the lines (12) may be perpendicular orat an angle or parallel to the band generator belt, the latter beingconfigured in a labyrinth through which the liquid flows in zigzagpassages.

Given the above, it is obvious that all the objectives proposed inreference to the product developed are in accordance with the inventionparameters; however, it is obvious that some changes could be proposedby experts in the field. Nevertheless, it is proposed that these changesform part of this application, provided that they fall within the scopeand spirit of the attached clauses.

Having described the invention at length, I consider it as a novelty andthen I claim as property the content of the following clauses:
 1. Avalve for inflating articles, comprising: at least four films havingproximal ends positioned at an inflation portal of said inflatablearticle, distal ends positioned beyond said inflation portal of saidinflatable article and within said inflatable article, and peripheraledges extending between said proximal and distal ends; at least two ofsaid at least four films comprising outer films and at least twocomprising inner films, wherein a distance between said proximal anddistal ends of said at least two outer films is greater than a distancebetween said proximal and distal ends of said at least two inner films,said at least two inner films further being located between; said atleast two inner films, positioned substantially opposite to each other,and being incompatible to sealing with each other so as to allow passageof gas or liquid between them from the exterior to the interior of saidinflatable article, and said at least two outer films positionedsubstantially opposite to each other, located at least partially withinsaid inflatable article, and being compatible to sealing with each otherand to an interior of said inflatable article; wherein said at least twoouter films are sealed together except for a portion thereof maintainedseparate by said at least two inner films positioned partiallytherebetween, said sealing defining a plurality of channels between saidat least two outer films, which channels extend into said inflatablearticle at said distal ends of said at least two outer films, andwherein said peripheral edges of said at least four films are sealedtogether with a periphery of said inflatable article where saidperipheral edges contact said inflatable article.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said plurality of channels comprise at least twoparallel sealing lines positioned apart from each other at a distance inthe range of approximately 4 mm to 30 mm.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or2, wherein said plurality of channels comprise at least two sealinglines positioned perpendicular to each other.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, wherein said seals between said films are formed by applying heat tolimited areas of said films.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidat least two inner films comprise a material selected from the groupconsisting of varnish, lacquer, ink and aluminum vapor.